It was exactly the same story against Northampton, where the keeper pulled off two or three top saves that would have gone in on another day and completely changed the complexion of the game early on.
Of recent fixtures where we have scored first, the only two we haven't won were both because of silly red cards when we were completely in control (Blackpool and Cambridge)
The manager like Bloomfield before him is finding his feet no doubt he will make mistakes and it’s not great timing for a new manager to come in . But equally Kone has been injured at a pivotal time , yes we should have won a few more games but the teams at the bottom are aiming for a draw we will adapt as will the manager. All the teams just below as will have the same type of games as have Wrexham there’s no guarantee they will win all their games plus they have to play us at home .
Man City had the ball 66% of the time yesterday. I would say 34% of effective possession is way better.
And the argument about entertainment v results will run and run of course. He’s got a truck load of titles and awards and yet the football City play is …. dull. Grealish was a great entertainer at Villa and he’s a bit part player under Pep.
You are highlighting one game against a Liverpool team in unbelievably good form. City won the title 4 seasons in a row scoring over 150 goals for an average of 2.5 goals per game. Not many fans, City or otherwise, would regard that as dull football. You mention Grealish, but what about De Bruyne, Haaland, Foden, Rodri etc - don’t you find them entertaining to watch?
It's all fine margins, isn't it? If we'd squeaked a 1-0 against both Northampton and Wigan (which on both occasions we were good value for), we'd currently be 7 points clear of 3rd place and laughing. It's a funny old game.
One of the reasons I have faith in Dodds is because he seems to see what we see when recanting his thoughts in post match interviews.
After Crawley he said that we needed to take better control of the game, and that Simons made a difference after coming on. Simons then starts our next two games and we subsequently have much more control in both games.
After Wigan he commented on how we controlled the game from start to finish (they never looked like scoring in all honesty) but that the final ball, shot etc eluded us. Watching the highlights back there are 3 or 4 great chances that we fluffed at the last minute. If any one of those went in, we'd have gone on to win that game comfortably I think.
I'll be interested to see any changes he makes based on his post match Wigan comments.
Having reviewed the last few pages of comments, it's obvious to me that our current lack of goals is primarily a result of Scowen sitting down at the back too much since Morley left.
I suggest we encourage him to stand up and run around a bit more.
Little Wycombe have come of age and are sitting, and still in control of, our destiny of the Automatics.
Whilst it would be a stretch to say teams are in fear (of our xG) they are certainly playing us with due respect and setting up for that fact.
I was as frustrated as anyone during Wigan game but trust in Doddsy 100%. As someone has already said, it only takes a stroke of luck anbd a goal against Wigan and/or Crawley and we’d be laughing.
And we are a TOUGH team to score against, let alone beat!
I don’t get to watch much Premier League football but caught a couple of games this weekend. Enjoyed Newcastle and Villa’s performances. Didn’t enjoy City.
Please don’t confuse this as me undermining Pep. I’m just giving my opinion. Not making informed analysis. Not trying to cause an argument. Apologies to those I’ve irked
There's a lot of arguing with points that haven't actually been made here - ie: nobody claimed we were playing for a draw, and I don't think anyone has actually said that we played badly. Quite a few people found the game boring, but that's not a criticism of the team, the effort, the manager or anything, just that the game was a very boring watch. Somehow this is seen as bed wetting? The only reason this thread went at all sideways was @flymofrank doing his usual dig at Blooms to wind people up.
For the record, I thought we were utterly stifled by a well organised opposition and sadly didn't have the spark that might break us through. I do think there was far too much Rochdale-style passing across the back four, but primarily because that almost invariably ended with a long punt into the channels which was easily dealt with. If that's the tactic, we could do that quickly instead of wasting so much time.
Early season we scored several goals and created many chances with some intricate one touch passing on the edge of the box, there was a real swagger to how we created. I think I agree with @glasshalffull though that the swagger went when the pressure increased.
The other thing I think we're missing from early season is the interesting corner routines. Last year, back when people started to actually pay attention to us being in second I saw some xG stats about how our short corners were producing far better scoring chances than the ones swinging it into the box - we were being far more inventive with corners than I'd ever seen us do before. We haven't been as creative with them for a while now - I'd like to see that come back, and I don't think that's particularly dependent on swagger or confidence.
No need to apologise, just think Guardiola deserves more respect for his fantastic achievements with 3 different clubs. I have the same debate with my son (usually over a few beers!) who says any manager would have been that successful with the money and players Guardiola has at his disposal, but you still have to win more games than all your opponents and he’s done that consistently wherever he’s been.
Funny you should mention the inventive corners. I remember in the first half against Wigan, Simons took a quick corner and picked out Cam on the edge of the box with HUGE space but the referee stopped it with the usual scuffles going on with the opposition trying to climb all over our two CB’s
Comments
It was exactly the same story against Northampton, where the keeper pulled off two or three top saves that would have gone in on another day and completely changed the complexion of the game early on.
Of recent fixtures where we have scored first, the only two we haven't won were both because of silly red cards when we were completely in control (Blackpool and Cambridge)
The manager like Bloomfield before him is finding his feet no doubt he will make mistakes and it’s not great timing for a new manager to come in . But equally Kone has been injured at a pivotal time , yes we should have won a few more games but the teams at the bottom are aiming for a draw we will adapt as will the manager. All the teams just below as will have the same type of games as have Wrexham there’s no guarantee they will win all their games plus they have to play us at home .
Man City had the ball 66% of the time yesterday. I would say 34% of effective possession is way better.
And the argument about entertainment v results will run and run of course. He’s got a truck load of titles and awards and yet the football City play is …. dull. Grealish was a great entertainer at Villa and he’s a bit part player under Pep.
You are highlighting one game against a Liverpool team in unbelievably good form. City won the title 4 seasons in a row scoring over 150 goals for an average of 2.5 goals per game. Not many fans, City or otherwise, would regard that as dull football. You mention Grealish, but what about De Bruyne, Haaland, Foden, Rodri etc - don’t you find them entertaining to watch?
I was stood right next to him at Cambridge and he said he was three weeks away🤷♂️🙄
Yeah, it's well known that Man City have hardly won any games or trophies having more possession than the opposition
Top class analysis
It's all fine margins, isn't it? If we'd squeaked a 1-0 against both Northampton and Wigan (which on both occasions we were good value for), we'd currently be 7 points clear of 3rd place and laughing. It's a funny old game.
One of the reasons I have faith in Dodds is because he seems to see what we see when recanting his thoughts in post match interviews.
After Crawley he said that we needed to take better control of the game, and that Simons made a difference after coming on. Simons then starts our next two games and we subsequently have much more control in both games.
After Wigan he commented on how we controlled the game from start to finish (they never looked like scoring in all honesty) but that the final ball, shot etc eluded us. Watching the highlights back there are 3 or 4 great chances that we fluffed at the last minute. If any one of those went in, we'd have gone on to win that game comfortably I think.
I'll be interested to see any changes he makes based on his post match Wigan comments.
I know exactly what it feels like when a player tells you when he'll be back, only for what he said to be totally wrong.
Having reviewed the last few pages of comments, it's obvious to me that our current lack of goals is primarily a result of Scowen sitting down at the back too much since Morley left.
I suggest we encourage him to stand up and run around a bit more.
I’m sure I can remember Low and Taylor both in the opposition box during open play versus Wigan. Hardly playing for a draw
Little Wycombe have come of age and are sitting, and still in control of, our destiny of the Automatics.
Whilst it would be a stretch to say teams are in fear (of our xG) they are certainly playing us with due respect and setting up for that fact.
I was as frustrated as anyone during Wigan game but trust in Doddsy 100%. As someone has already said, it only takes a stroke of luck anbd a goal against Wigan and/or Crawley and we’d be laughing.
And we are a TOUGH team to score against, let alone beat!
I don’t get to watch much Premier League football but caught a couple of games this weekend. Enjoyed Newcastle and Villa’s performances. Didn’t enjoy City.
Please don’t confuse this as me undermining Pep. I’m just giving my opinion. Not making informed analysis. Not trying to cause an argument. Apologies to those I’ve irked
There's a lot of arguing with points that haven't actually been made here - ie: nobody claimed we were playing for a draw, and I don't think anyone has actually said that we played badly. Quite a few people found the game boring, but that's not a criticism of the team, the effort, the manager or anything, just that the game was a very boring watch. Somehow this is seen as bed wetting? The only reason this thread went at all sideways was @flymofrank doing his usual dig at Blooms to wind people up.
For the record, I thought we were utterly stifled by a well organised opposition and sadly didn't have the spark that might break us through. I do think there was far too much Rochdale-style passing across the back four, but primarily because that almost invariably ended with a long punt into the channels which was easily dealt with. If that's the tactic, we could do that quickly instead of wasting so much time.
Early season we scored several goals and created many chances with some intricate one touch passing on the edge of the box, there was a real swagger to how we created. I think I agree with @glasshalffull though that the swagger went when the pressure increased.
The other thing I think we're missing from early season is the interesting corner routines. Last year, back when people started to actually pay attention to us being in second I saw some xG stats about how our short corners were producing far better scoring chances than the ones swinging it into the box - we were being far more inventive with corners than I'd ever seen us do before. We haven't been as creative with them for a while now - I'd like to see that come back, and I don't think that's particularly dependent on swagger or confidence.
No need to apologise, just think Guardiola deserves more respect for his fantastic achievements with 3 different clubs. I have the same debate with my son (usually over a few beers!) who says any manager would have been that successful with the money and players Guardiola has at his disposal, but you still have to win more games than all your opponents and he’s done that consistently wherever he’s been.
Funny you should mention the inventive corners. I remember in the first half against Wigan, Simons took a quick corner and picked out Cam on the edge of the box with HUGE space but the referee stopped it with the usual scuffles going on with the opposition trying to climb all over our two CB’s
And that's the last of tonight's session from The Inventive Corners. Rather more Power Pop than Post Punk, I'm sure you'd agree.
My apologies for talking about football on a football thread.
Easy there chief. That was no slight on you, just riffing on a classic John Peel line.